Money Box

On our programme last Saturday we looked at the new Financial Conduct Authority guidance for people with car finance who are struggling to pay it due to coronavirus. 80% of all private new car buyers take out finance at the dealership and there’s £110bn worth of debt outstanding. We get lots of questions from listeners about how car finance actually works so for this special podcast extra we’ve got Stuart Masson, editor of thecarexpert.co.uk to explain. He’ll also talk about the FCA guidance in more detail.Reporter and Producer: Ben Carter

Adam Shaw and guests talk to people struggling with bills and finding it hard to access credit. They offer practical advice about how to stay on top of your finances.Guests: Richard Lane from StepChange and Sara Williams from Debt Camel.Email: moneybox@bbc.co.ukProducer: Ben Carter Editor: Emma Rippon

Action to protect workers who would otherwise face redundancy due to the coronavirus outbreak was brought in by the government last month. Known as the Job Retention Scheme it pays 80 per cent of wages for people kept on by their employer up to a maximum of £2,500 a month. At the time there was disappointment from those who missed out because they didn’t start their job before the scheme’s cut-off date of February 28th. This week that date was extended to the 19th of March. The Treasury says the date change is “expected to benefit over 200,000 employees” - but will it? Guest: Heather Self, Tax Partner, Blick Rothenberg.Plans to refund the victims of fraud isn’t "working as well as hoped" according to financial watchdog the Payment Systems Regulator. Data gathered by the PSR shows that two high street banks who promised to refund victims refused to do so in 96% of cases. Money Box hears from the PSR Managing Director Chris Hemsley to find out what his organisation is doing about it, what action it wants to see from the banks… and why it isn’t taking tougher action already. Money Box also hears from the son of one victim whose bank initially refused to refund him after criminals used his bank details to steal his life savings of £90k. The FCA announced more plans to support households struggling to pay bills due to the impact of coronavirus on incomes. They include a three month payment freeze for car loans and a one month interest-free halt on high-cost short-term credit payments like payday loans. The FCA hopes to finalise the proposals by Friday 24 April and expect them to happen shortly afterwards. A three month credit card payment holiday for people with cash problems caused by coronavirus came into force this week.Guests: Sara Williams debt campaigner and founder of the Debt Camel blog and Stuart Masson Editor for thecarexpert.co.ukPresenter: Paul Lewis Editor: Emma Rippon Producer: Charmaine Cozier

How are student finances being affected by coronavirus? Louise Cooper is joined by Tom Allingham from Save The Student and Hayley Borrett from The National Association of Student Money Advisers. They'll hear from students with concerns about paying fees, meeting rent obligations, making student loan payments and much more.Email moneybox@bbc.co.uk with questions and experiences or tweet @MoneyboxProducer: Ben Carter Researcher: Kafui Okpattah Editor: Emma Rippon

Millions of people are still facing huge financial pressure despite government measures to help them deal with the fallout from coronavirus.Some estimates show that up to half of the 5m people who are self employed won’t be helped by the support package that the government has announced. Many thousands more, who are employees, are not eligible for the job retention furlough arrangements.Unsurprisingly the benefits system has seen an unprecedented number of new applications for Universal credit. We’re hearing of a back log of many weeks as the Department for Work and Pensions tries to work through more than a million new cases.So if you are one of the millions of people affected by a huge and sudden loss in income, what can you do to survive?Paul Lewis and guests discuss their top tips for surviving financial shock. Joining Paul are:- Nick Hill - money expert, Money And Pensions Service - Laura Peters - from Mental Health and Money Advice - Anna Stevenson - welfare benefit expert at charity Turn2usProducer: Alex Lewis Editor: Emma Rippon

Louise Cooper and guests discuss how government rules help tenants and landlords affected by coronavirus.Guests: Henry Pryor - Buying agent and property expert Anny Cullum - National organiser for Acorn, a community and tenants union John Stewart - Policy manager at the National Residential Landlords AssociationEmail questions to moneybox@bbc.co.ukProducer: Ben Carter Editor: Emma Rippon

People who have recently begun new jobs say that the government’s plan to help businesses hit by coronavirus may treat them unfairly. Under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, a business can choose to furlough workers – that is, keep them on the books but not working and at home. The government will pay 80 per cent of their wages up to £2,500 per month. Companies may choose to top up furloughed employee wages to 100 per cent. However, to be eligible for furloughing, workers have to have been in employment with the company on February 28th, 2020. New starters say that unfairly leaves out people who happened to be between jobs on that date. It also means that people who have changed jobs since then cannot ask to be furloughed by their new employer. We hear the experiences and concerns of new starters and employers, alongside Edwin Morgan, director of policy at the Institute of Directors, and employment lawyer Amy Wren of Farrer and Co. Then we put your points to Harriet Baldwin, MP - a Conservative member of the Treasury Select Committee and former economic secretary to the Treasury. There's an update on the Financial Conduct Authority's proposals for new rules on lending. And on the podcast, happy news from a Money Box-inspired wedding. Presenter: Felicity Hannah Producer: Paul Waters Editor: Hugh Levinson

In recent weeks the Money Box inbox has been inundated with your queries and questions about travel and holiday issues. So we invited Simon Calder, travel editor at The Independent, to shed some light on some of the most common problems people are facing.

Wedding plans in ruins, holidays cancelled, business on hold and landlords unable to rent out their properties.This is exactly the kind of unexpected scenario we buy insurance policies for, but are they written to cover once in a century events like the coronavirus outbreak?Our panel of experts answer your questions on insurance policies and claims.

This week the Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced the Government’s much anticipated help package for the self employed. Only about two thirds of an estimated 6m workforce will gain anything, leaving over a million people without help. We look at the package in more detail, including the changes to benefits and hear top tips for getting paid in a timely manner.And the banks were quick to promise support for customers in need but are they actually delivering? Money Box listeners tell us their experiences.Presenter Felicity Hannah Reporter: Ben Carter Researcher: Darin Graham Producer: Alex Lewis Editor: Emma Rippon